Blog

June 2018

We’ve long been a proponent of Oracle hardware and software and have many clients utilizing it. Many years ago, Oracle didn’t have a lot of flexibility in their offerings to meet different client needs and different budgets, but it was still a great option when it fit the need.

In recent years, they’ve significantly expanded their offerings and have adapted to the changing needs of their target market, which is great. One recent example is the new Oracle Database Appliance offerings, which include X7-2S, X7-2M, and X7-2HA. The disk capacity ranges from 16TB to 300TB.

Back when they first released Oracle Database Appliance, they offered 2S, 2M, and a third one that didn’t have a letter. So a lot of tech industry people joked that the third one must be 2L, or large. Well, now the third one has a letter identification, too. The HA stands for high capacity, and it definitely fits!

So which one is right for you? Well, that depends.

The X7-2S can be a good fit for both production environments and development environments. It has less memory than the others, but it still has lots of memory.

The X7-2M has more memory overall, but that’s really its primary advantage. In reviewing the specs, I don’t see anything else about the medium option that offers a competitive advantage above the small except in terms of storage space.

Either of these options make the most sense for a customer who has already invested in Oracle database. The purpose of this hardware is to make data going out and data coming in as efficient as possible. It’s fast, and that matters for many people.

I’ll be honest-I’m a believer in Oracle products. If it were my money, that’s where I’d spend it. But, I also recognize it’s not the right fit for everyone. You need to know how to set it up and support it (or work with someone who can help you do that). But if you have that part covered, it’s a great option for people who need this level of server.

LSG Solutions was recently awarded a statewide contract to provide information technology services for state agencies and affiliates on an as-needed basis.

This contract originated with a request for proposal from the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES). OMES is responsible for key functions at the state level, including central purchasing, central accounting and reporting, employee group insurance, human capital management, budget and policy services, and information services.

While OMES has technology staff assigned to various state agencies through their information services division, they recognize that periodic needs to augment staff can occur, especially with the complexity of state agencies and their affiliates.

With this contract, LSG Solutions will be able to augment the OMES staff as needed for a variety of tasks, including special projects or covering routine responsibilities when other staff members are unavailable.

Within our proposal, we provided proof of our past and current experience in multiple disciplines outlined in the request, including the following:

IT Administrative Services

Project Management

Application Development and Support (includes Systems Analysis)

Enterprise Architecture (Business & Technical Architecture)

Database Administration

Data Warehouse Architecture

Technical Grant Writing

It certainly comes as no surprise that multiple information technology service companies responded to this request for proposal from the state for a total of 12 responses. We have a long history of providing quality technology services to the state of Oklahoma, and we are pleased to be awarded this additional contract with the state.

Our services will include both on-premise and cloud environments, primarily for Microsoft and Oracle products, although our services can extend to other technologies as well.

The list of potential organizations we could help through this contract is rather lengthy, as the definition of state agencies and affiliates includes boards, commissions, counties, cities, school districts, hospitals, colleges, universities, and more.